Fraud concerns over caller ID spoofing
Posted May 16, 2010 1:09 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It may seem harmless, but officials say caller ID spoofing is increasingly being used illegally.
The technology lets users phone a number and then plug in the digits they want to show up on the other person’s caller ID.
Users also have the option of disguising their voice and recording the phone call.
The head of the company that patented the system tells Canwest News, he believes most people use it for privacy because it’s more effective than the *67 call blocking feature.
However, New York City police say an identity theft ring used caller ID spoofing to obtain credit card numbers and steal more than $15 million from 6,000 victims.
It’s also been alleged that Paris Hilton used the technology to hack into Lindsay Lohan’s voice mail.
